know it, work it, embrace it.

Finishing out this #31days series on an honest word and a call to action.

My life, especially the one I live online, isn’t about painting a prettier picture than the one that exists. That’s too much work, y’all. I don’t have the energy or the resources for that. Instead, I want to inspire with my vulnerability, and encourage with my honesty. I want to learn what it means to really live out the vision of our network. I want learn to use the influence I have, right where I am.

I long to see a community of women, especially mothers, changing culture online. Imagine what the Internet could become if we all agreed to work out our strengths and embrace our weaknesses. Imagine the powerful implications of a world where women speak life to one another, regardless of personal (or religious!) preferences and opinions. Imagine how safe motherhood could become.

My name is Rachael, and I’m really good at keeping a schedule. I’m passionate about my kids never smelling like maple syrup or pee, so they rarely do. I make my bed every day. When my kids fight, I make them stay in the same room and talk it out, and then hug each other afterwards until everyone is laughing. I can prepare really cheap meals that don’t taste like dirt. I’m a good nurse, and I enjoy working outside of the home. When I say I’m going to do something, I do it.

It’s creeping up on a year since we moved into the farmhouse, and our decor is still in boxes. My kitchen boasts multiple layers of peeling paint and decades-old wallpaper, and we have yet to plant a garden. It might be years before our home and our land gives us the harvest of which we dream. I have a pretty short fuse with my toddlers. I’m a morning person, but I often wake up grumpy. I’m self-conscious about wearing a red lip. Also, I hate vacuuming and doing my hair, so I do a pretty poor job of both.

Women, can we take a moment to toot our own horns? It’s time to know what you’re good at. Say it out loud. Work it out. But let’s not forget to admit our weaknesses, either. It’s okay to laugh at the silly. The more real we get with one another, the more powerful our community becomes.

6 thoughts on “know it, work it, embrace it.”

And I’m going to play (and it’s sad how hard it is to toot one’s own horn)

My name is Kate. I cast visions and implement them. I create space for vulnerability and weakness. I love fiercely. I am a doer – the casserole queen/the watch your children for a couple hours while you rest/the paint your new apartment when your husband kicks you out/the bring you chocolates when you’re scared to death about your “oops” baby. I create a homemade home and am a pretty awesome cook for someone who just started a few years ago. I’m not afraid to do/say the unpopular thing when it is the right thing. I am tender in the face of need.

I, too, have lived in this home for a year, and have boxes that still need to be unpacked and artwork resting on dining room table (for three months) because I’m too lazy to just get it hung. I burn hot and fast and out quickly. I collect hobbies and projects and sometimes forget about the truly important. Sundays often find me too lazy to go to church even though I know how it feeds my soul. I’m not a patient mom. I get overwhelmed easily – especially in busy and loud places. I’m a stay at home wife and mom who hired a cleaning service to come every two weeks because I hate to scrub toilets.

I’m Jenn. I try to be everything. The mother, the worker, the friend, the wife, the lover. Sometimes I succeed and sometimes not. I am passionate about creating a community of women who support one another. We spend far too much time judging and comparing and bringing one another down. And I’m guilty of it more than I’d like to admit.

It’s so hard to toot our own horns but its so easy to be able see the encouraging things in others. I am Jessica and I am a great encourager and I know and believe that God has given me this simple gift to really bless others. I love to encourage others and it brings me so much joy. I think one of the reasons that we don’t want to toot our own horns is because we don’t want to become prideful. But sometimes its nice to sit back and reflect on the awesome things that God has given us that make us each unique.